Point calculating device and method for calculating points

ABSTRACT

An object is to restrict the giving of points according to an object of payment for which payment was made with electronic money. 
     An electronic money server (FIG.  11 ) receives transaction information in which a breakdown of the amount of payment of an electronic money card used in one payment processing is recorded and breakdown information in which a breakdown of the amount of payment for each object of payment in this payment processing is recorded. The breakdown includes a normal item into which general products are classified, a tax-free item into which tax-free articles such as a postage stamp are classified, and a collected item into which public utility rates collected by an agency payment service are classified. Among these breakdown items, points are given to the amount of payment made for a normal item, and no points are given to the others. The electronic money server  5  identifies the amount of payment used for paying for a normal item product in the amount of payment made with the electronic money card by checking the breakdown information against the transaction information, and calculates the number of points for the amount of payment.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. national stage application of InternationalApplication No. PCT/JP2007/64661, filed Jul. 26, 2007, claiming apriority date of Aug. 10, 2006, and published in a non-English language.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a point calculating device and a methodfor calculating points, and, for example, relates to a device and amethod that give points when electronic money is used.

BACKGROUND ART

Along with the popularization of electronic money, commercialtransactions using electronic money have been increasingly popular.

In the commercial transactions using electronic money, electronic datahaving monetary value called value is stored in an IC card or the like,and the amount thereof is increased and decreased, whereby a transfer ofthe monetary value is carried out.

Incidentally, point service has become popular to retain the customers,for example.

In the point service, a points card in which a point member ID is storedis issued for a user, and, when the user buys a product, points aregiven and accumulated in such a way that they are brought intocorrespondence with the point member ID. The user can use a servicecorresponding to the number of accumulated points.

In recent years, a service that offers an IC card having an electronicmoney card function and a points card function such that points aregiven according to the amount of payment made with electronic money hasbecome available.

As just described, as a technology to combine the commercialtransactions using electronic money and the point service, there is apoint service system tied to electronic money described in PatentDocument 1 below. This technology allows points to be given whenelectronic money is used.

Patent Document 1: JP-A-2002-170064

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

Restrictions on the giving of points are occasionally desired whenpayment of a particular object of payment, such as a public utilityrate, is made with electronic money.

However, an electronic money center cannot restrict the number of pointsto be given according to an object of payment because, although it cancollect an ID of an electronic money card and the amount of payment, itdoes not collect information on an object of payment, and gives pointswithout exception regardless of object of payment.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to restrict the givingof points according to an object of payment for which payment was madewith electronic money.

Technical Solution

The present invention provides, in the invention according to claim 1, apoint calculating device giving points, in an electronic money systemconfigured by using a monetary value storage medium having IDinformation assigned thereto and storing monetary value as electronicdata and payment means which performs payment processing by reducing thestored monetary value, according to the amount of payment made with themonetary value with the points associated with the ID information of themonetary value storage medium in which the monetary value was stored,the point calculating device including: payment amount obtaining meanswhich obtains ID information and the amount of payment in the monetaryvalue storage medium to which the ID information is assigned; breakdowninformation obtaining means which obtains breakdown information of anobject of payment of the obtained amount of payment; point calculatingmeans which identifies the amount of payment to which points are givenby using the obtained breakdown information and calculates points forthe amount of payment thus identified; and point outputting means whichoutputs the calculated points with the points associated with the IDinformation.

In the invention according to claim 2, provided is the point calculatingdevice according to claim 1, wherein, in the electronic money system, afirst type monetary value storage medium to which points are given whenpayment is made and a second type monetary value storage medium to whichno points are given even when payment is made are used, and, when thefirst type monetary value storage medium and the second type monetaryvalue storage medium are both used in one payment processing, the pointcalculating device calculates points with the assumption that theidentified amount of payment to which points are given was paid by thefirst type monetary value storage medium up to a ceiling of the amountof payment made with the first type monetary value storage medium.

In the invention according to claim 3, provided is a method forcalculating points, the method being performed by a point calculatingdevice giving points, in an electronic money system configured by usinga monetary value storage medium having ID information assigned theretoand storing monetary value as electronic data and payment means whichperforms payment processing by reducing the stored monetary value,according to the amount of payment made with the monetary value with thepoints associated with the ID information of the monetary value storagemedium in which the monetary value was stored, wherein the pointcalculating device includes payment amount obtaining means, breakdowninformation obtaining means, point calculating means, and pointoutputting means, the method for calculating points including: a paymentamount obtaining step of obtaining, by the payment amount obtainingmeans, ID information and the amount of payment in the monetary valuestorage medium to which the ID information is assigned; a breakdowninformation obtaining step of obtaining, by the breakdown informationobtaining means, breakdown information of an object of payment of theobtained amount of payment; a point calculating step of identifying, bythe point calculating means, the amount of payment to which points aregiven by using the obtained breakdown information and calculating pointsfor the amount of payment thus identified; and a point outputting stepof outputting, by the point outputting means, the calculated points withthe points associated with the ID information.

Advantageous Effects

According to the invention, in order to achieve the above object, it ispossible to restrict the giving of points according to an object ofpayment for which payment was made with electronic money.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 It is a diagram for explaining a system configuration of anembodiment.

FIG. 2 It is a block diagram of an example of a hardware configurationof an electronic money card.

FIG. 3 It is a block diagram for explaining a functional configurationof the electronic money card.

FIG. 4 It is a diagram of an example of a hardware configuration of anelectronic money server.

FIG. 5 It is a diagram of an example of a logical configuration of auser database.

FIG. 6 It is a diagram of an example of a logical configuration of amember store database.

FIG. 7 It is a diagram of an example of a logical configuration of apoint table.

FIG. 8 It is a diagram of an example of a logical configuration of atransaction database.

FIG. 9 It is a diagram of an example of a logical configuration of abreakdown database.

FIG. 10 It is a diagram for explaining a process of receivingtransaction information and breakdown information.

FIG. 11 It is a diagram for explaining point calculation processing.

FIG. 12 It is a diagram for explaining another example of pointcalculation processing.

FIG. 13 It is a flowchart for explaining a point calculation procedure.

FIG. 14 It is a diagram for explaining a modified example of theembodiment.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE

-   -   1 electronic money system    -   2 member store    -   3 electronic money terminal    -   4 member store server    -   5 electronic money server    -   6 point server    -   7 electronic money card    -   8 mobile phone

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (1) Summary of Embodiment

An electronic money server (FIG. 11) receives transaction information inwhich a breakdown of the amount of payment of an electronic money cardused in one payment processing is recorded and breakdown information inwhich a breakdown of the amount of payment for each object of payment inthis payment processing is recorded.

The breakdown includes a normal item into which general products areclassified, a tax-free item into which tax-free articles such as apostage stamp are classified, and a collected item into which publicutility rates collected by an agency payment service are classified.

Among these breakdown items, points are given to the amount of paymentmade for a normal item, and no points are given to the others.

The electronic money server identifies the amount of payment used forpaying for a normal item product in the amount of payment made with theelectronic money card by checking the breakdown information against thetransaction information, and calculates the number of points for theamount of payment thus identified.

Moreover, when an electronic money card having the points card functionand an electronic money card having no points card function are bothused in one payment processing, the electronic money server allocates,to the electronic money card having the points card function, thelargest possible amount of payment to which points are given to theadvantage of the user.

For example, suppose that a C card has the points card function, and anA card and a B card do not have the points card functions. In this case,the electronic money server allocates, to the C card, 600 yen to whichpoints are given as the amount of payment made with the C card up to aceiling of 800 yen, which is the amount of payment made with the C card.If the amount of payment to which points are given is 1000 yen, itallocates 800 yen to the C card, and allocates the remaining 200 yen tothe other electronic money card.

(2) Details of Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a system configuration of theembodiment.

An electronic money system 1 includes an electronic money terminal 3installed in a member store 2, a member store server 4, an electronicmoney server 5, a point server 6, an electronic money card 7, a mobilephone 8, and the like.

The electronic money card 7 incorporates an IC chip and an antenna forcommunicating with the electronic money terminal 3, and can chargeitself with value and make payment. Electric power for driving the ICchip is supplied from the electronic money terminal 3 wirelessly.

Here, value is a concept corresponding to money in the electronic moneysystem 1, and is money amount information indicating the amount ofmonetary value as electronic data.

A management operator of the electronic money system 1 matches valuewith a currency by collecting, when issuing value, the currency for thecorresponding amount of money from the user, and distributing it to themember store 2 which accepted payment with value according to the amountof payment.

Increasing the amount of value stored in the IC chip by issuing value isreferred to as charging, and decreasing the charged value with theelectronic money terminal 3 is referred to as making payment.

As the electronic money card 7, there are a card having the points cardfunction (hereinafter, an electronic money card 7 having the points cardfunction) and a card having no points card function (hereinafter, anelectronic money card 7 having no points card function).

To the electronic money card 7 having the points card function, pointsaccording to the amount of payment are given when payment is made withvalue.

On the other hand, to the electronic money card 7 having no points cardfunction, no points are given even when payment is made with value.

The electronic money card 7 having the points card function is offeredas follows. For example, the management operator of the electronic moneysystem 1 ties up with a point provider, and the point provider issues apoints card having the electronic money card function to retain thecustomers.

The mobile phone 8 incorporates an IC chip for the electronic money card7, and can charge itself with value and make payment in a manner similarto the electronic money card 7 by performing short-distance wirelesscommunication with the electronic money terminal 3.

As is the case with the electronic money card 7, the mobile phone 8 canalso be provided with the points card function.

The electronic money card function of the mobile phone 8 is performed bythe IC chip as in the case of the electronic money card 7. Thus,hereinafter, the concept of the electronic money card 7 includes themobile phone 8 incorporating the IC chip.

The member store 2 is a store where payment can be made with value byusing the electronic money card 7. Although only one store is shown inthe figure, there are a plurality of stores.

The member stores 2 include, in addition to a store having a fixedaddress, such as a convenience store and a restaurant, a mobile unitsuch as a taxi and a virtual store established on the Internet server.

Of these member stores 2, for example, in addition to selling products,a convenience store offers an agency payment service such as collectingpublic utility rates including water rates or sells tax-free articlessuch as a postage stamp on a commission basis, and allows payment to bemade with the electronic money card 7.

The electronic money terminal 3 is an access terminal which accesses theelectronic money card 7, and the electronic money terminal 3 isinstalled alone or incorporated into an accounting machine (a register).In the figure, only one of them is shown in the member store 2; however,it is also possible to install a plurality of terminals.

The electronic money terminal 3 has a module called a reader/writerperforming a short-distance wireless communication with the electronicmoney card 7, and the electronic money terminal 3 can increase (charge)or decrease (make payment) the amount of value stored in the IC chip ofthe electronic money card 7 by transmitting money amount changeinformation to the electronic money card 7 from the reader/writer.

The money amount change information is information used for changing theamount of value which is currently stored in the electronic money card7, and specifies the amount and the distinction between charging andpayment.

As will be explained in detail later, the money amount changeinformation can be configured as an addition/subtraction command whichadds or subtracts the amount added to or subtracted from the electronicmoney card 7 to or from the value balance, or can be configured as anoverwrite command which allows the amount obtained after addition orsubtraction to be written over the electronic money card 7 as the valuebalance.

When payment processing is performed, the electronic money terminal 3generates payment object information in which the contents of paymentare recorded, and transmits it to the member store server 4 immediatelyin real time. The payment object information is generated irrespectiveof means of payment (cash, value, or the like).

Incidentally, the electronic money terminal 3 can be configured so as toaccumulate the payment object information for a certain period of timeand transmit it to the member store server 4 in bulk with batchprocessing.

The payment object information includes a terminal ID of the electronicmoney terminal 3, a transaction sequence number, a date and time ofprocessing, information on an object of payment (a payment object code,the amount of payment, etc.), information on the method of payment(cash, electronic money, etc.), and information on the user (sex, age,etc.) guessed by a cashier.

Here, the transaction sequence number is a consecutive number (a serialnumber) issued by the electronic money terminal 3 every time it performsaccount processing (such as charging and payment made with value or incash), and the account processing can be identified based on theterminal ID of the electronic money terminal 3 and the transactionsequence number. Therefore, a combination of the terminal ID and thetransaction sequence number functions as account processingidentification information for identifying the account processing.

Incidentally, this form of issuance of the transaction sequence numberis described as an example; for example, it can be issued on a memberstore-by-member store basis. In this case, a combination of a memberstore ID and a transaction sequence number functions as the accountprocessing identification information.

In either case, the payment object information has only to includeinformation based on which the account processing can be identified.

As will be described in detail later, the account processingidentification information is used by the electronic money server 5 formatching the transaction information and the breakdown informationreceived thereby separately.

The payment object information is analyzed by the member store server 4,and is used for laying in stock, performing an analysis of the customertrend, and the like.

As described above, a system in which a product sales situation iscollected and analyzed by using the payment object information issometimes called a POS system (Point of Sale system).

On the other hand, the electronic money terminal 3 accumulatestransaction information in which the contents of processing performedwith the electronic money card 7 is recorded, and transmits it to theelectronic money server 5 with batch processing about once a day, forexample.

The transaction information includes a terminal ID of the electronicmoney terminal 3, a transaction sequence number, a date and time ofprocessing, an electronic money function part ID which is ID informationof the electronic money card 7, a distinction between charging andpayment, the amount charged or the amount of payment, and the like.

The member store server 4 is connected to each electronic money terminal3 of each member store 2 via a network, and collects and accumulates thepayment object information quickly from the electronic money terminal 3.

Then, the member store server 4 generates breakdown information after adelay of three days based on the payment object information, thebreakdown information indicating the breakdown of the objects of paymentwhose payments have been made, and transmits it to the electronic moneyserver 5.

In addition to the above, the payment object information accumulated inthe member store server 4 is used for many purposes including orderplacement and data mining.

Incidentally, the embodiment deals with a case in which the breakdowninformation is transmitted after a delay of three days for ease ofexplanation. However, there are various types of member stores 2including a store which has installed a large-scale computer system, asmall-scale family type operation, and an automatic vending machine in aremote island. Thus, the timing with which the member store server 4transmits the breakdown information to the electronic money server 5varies from one member store server 4 to another; for example, some ofthem transmit three days' worth breakdown information in bulk once everythree days, and others transmit the breakdown information every day.

Since the electronic money server 5 accumulates the breakdowninformation, the breakdown information may be transmitted with anytiming as long as it does not conflict with the operation of theelectronic money system 1.

The breakdown information consists of a terminal ID of the electronicmoney terminal 3, a transaction sequence number, a date and time ofprocessing, a classification of an object of payment whose payment hasbeen made, the amount of payment for each classification, and the like.

As will be described in detail later, classifications of the breakdowninformation include a normal item (general products), a tax-free item(tax-free articles such as a postage stamp), and a collected item(public utility rates such as water rates).

According to these classifications, the point rate and the commissionrate (charges collected from the member store 2 by the managementoperator of the electronic money system 1 as charges for the usage ofthe electronic money system 1) are set.

Moreover, it is also possible to record the electronic money functionpart ID and the amount of payment of the electronic money card 7 usedfor payment processing in the breakdown information. In this case, whena plurality of electronic money cards 7 are used in one paymentprocessing (for example, when one electronic money card 7 does not meetthe amount of payment, and another electronic money card 7 or the mobilephone 8 is used with it), the electronic money function part ID of eachelectronic money card 7, the classification of the object of paymentwhose payment has been made with each electronic money card 7, and theamount thereof are recorded.

The electronic money server 5 is a server managing the transactioninformation, and performs point calculation and other informationprocessing.

The electronic money server 5 is connected to the electronic moneyterminal 3 and the member store server 4 via a network, receives thetransaction information from the electronic money terminal 3 about oncea day and stores it, and receives the breakdown information from themember store server 4 after a delay of three days and stores it.

Then, the electronic money server 5 verifies the breakdown informationand the transaction information by using the terminal ID, thetransaction sequence number, or the like, as a key, and allocates theamount of payment recorded in the breakdown to the electronic money card7 by a procedure which will be described later.

Then, according to the rules for calculating the point rate set for eachbreakdown, the electronic money server 5 calculates the number of pointsgiven to the electronic money card 7, and notifies the point server 6.

Incidentally, the timing with which the transaction information and thebreakdown information are received is described as an example, and itvaries from one member store 2 to another. Since the electronic moneyserver 5 checks the match between the transaction information and thebreakdown information based on the terminal ID and the transactionsequence number, reception may be performed with any timing.

The point server 6 is a server storing the number of points of theelectronic money card 7 having the points card function and managing theaccumulation and use of the points.

The point server 6 receives the number of points calculated by theelectronic money server 5, and adds the number of points to the pointbalance of the electronic money card 7.

The point server 6 is connected to an unillustrated point terminal(which is installed in a store or the like where the points can beused), and performs processing such as checking the point number balanceor consuming and giving points by communicating with the electronicmoney card 7 via the point terminal.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configurationof the electronic money card 7.

The electronic money card 7 includes a CPU (central processing unit) 11,a high-frequency circuit 12, an antenna 16, a ROM (read-only memory) 13,a RAM (random-access memory) 14, an EEPROM (electrically erasable andprogrammable ROM) 15, and the like.

These elements are formed on an IC chip embedded in the electronic moneycard 7. However, the antenna 16 is formed as an aerial strung near theouter edge inside the electronic money card 7 or on the elliptic curvewhose axis is a diagonal line of the electronic money card 7, and isconnected at the end thereof to the IC chip.

The CPU 11 is a central processing unit which performs informationprocessing according to various programs stored in the ROM 13 or theEEPROM 15.

Moreover, the CPU 11 can perform short-distance wireless communicationwith the electronic money terminal 3 and the point terminal (when theelectronic money card 7 has the points card function) via the antenna 16and the high-frequency circuit 12.

The antenna 16 is an antenna for performing short-distance wirelesscommunication with an antenna built into the reader/writer.

In addition, the antenna 16 generates electric power by radio waves fromthe reader/writer, the electric power used for driving the electronicmoney card 7.

The high-frequency circuit 12 converts high-frequency waves transmittedfrom the reader/writer to the antenna 16 into a digital signal andoutputs it to the CPU 11, or, conversely, converts a digital signaloutputted from the CPU 11 into high-frequency waves and sends them tothe reader/writer from the antenna 16.

The RAM 14 is a memory which is writable/readable at any time and offersa working memory used when the CPU 11 performs information processing.

The RAM 14 can retain the memory contents while electric power issupplied to the electronic money card 7, but loses the memory contentswhen supply of electric power is stopped.

The ROM 13 is a read-only memory in which a basic program for making theelectronic money card 7 work, a parameter, data, and the like, arestored.

The EEPROM 15 is a ROM into which information can be written or fromwhich information can be erased. The information stored in the EEPROM 15is retained even when no electric power is supplied to the electronicmoney card 7.

The EEPROM 15 stores a value processing program which is a program formaking the CPU 11 realize the function as an electronic money card 7 ora points card function program which is a program for making the CPU 11realize the function as a points card.

In addition, in the EEPROM 15, a value storing portion storing the valuebalance, the electronic money function part ID, log data on valueprocessing, and the like, and a point member ID storing portion storinga point member ID and the like are formed.

FIG. 3(a) is a block diagram schematically showing a functionalconfiguration realized by the electronic money card 7 when the valueprocessing program is executed in the CPU 11.

A terminal communications portion 17 is formed with the antenna 16 andthe like, and receives the money amount change information from areader/writer portion 3 a of the electronic money terminal 3 and inputsit into a value processing portion 18.

The value processing portion 18 performs charging or makes payment byincreasing and decreasing the value balance stored in a value storingportion 19 by the amount specified by the money amount changeinformation.

In addition to the above, various commands such as a command forreferring to the value balance or a command for referring to theelectronic money function part ID are prepared, and the value processingportion 18 performs information processing specified by these commands.

Here, the money amount change information is explained in more detail.

The money amount change information includes an addition command and asubtraction command. The addition command and the subtraction commandare accompanied with the money amount as a parameter, and make the valueprocessing portion 18 increase and decrease the value by that moneyamount.

For example, when the value balance stored in the value storing portion19 is 5000 yen and the amount of payment is 1000 yen, the electronicmoney terminal 3 generates a subtraction command which subtracts 1000yen, and transmits it to the terminal communications portion 17. Then,the value processing portion 18 executes this subtraction command, andchanges the value balance stored in the value storing portion 19 to 4000yen=5000 yen−1000 yen.

Furthermore, it is also possible to configure the money amount changeinformation as an overwrite command.

In this case, the electronic money terminal 3 calculates the valuebalance after addition or subtraction, and writes the amount thuscalculated over the value balance in the value storing portion 19.

For example, suppose that the value balance stored in the value storingportion 19 is 5000 yen and the amount of payment is 1000 yen.

The electronic money terminal 3 reads the current value balance 5000 yenfrom the electronic money card 7, and calculates the balance after thepayment: 4000 yen=5000 yen−1000 yen. Then, the electronic money terminal3 generates an overwrite command by which 4000 yen is written over thevalue balance, and transmits it to the terminal communications portion17. The value processing portion 18 then executes the overwrite command,and changes the value balance stored in the value storing portion 19 to4000 yen.

The above description deals with a case in which the money amount changeinformation is configured as an addition/subtraction command and a casein which it is configured as an overwrite command; however, it is alsopossible to combine these commands.

For example, it is possible to use an addition command for charging anduse an overwrite command for making payment, or to use an overwritecommand for charging and use a subtraction command for making payment.

As described above, the value storing portion 19 forms a monetary valuestorage medium having ID information (an electronic money function partID) assigned thereto and storing monetary value as electronic data(value), and the value processing portion 18 forms payment means whichperforms payment processing by reducing the stored monetary value.

FIG. 3(b) is a block diagram schematically showing a functionalconfiguration realized by the electronic money card 7 when the pointscard function program is executed in the CPU 11.

An ID reading portion 22 is configured by executing the points cardfunction program in the CPU 11.

A terminal communications portion 21 is formed by using the antenna 16and the like, and receives an ID read command from a reader/writerportion 20 a of a point terminal 20 and inputs it into the ID readingportion 22.

When the ID read command is inputted, the ID reading portion 22 reads apoint member ID from a point member ID storing portion 23, and outputsit to the terminal communications portion 21. The terminalcommunications portion 21 transmits the point member ID to thereader/writer portion 20 a.

When the point terminal 20 obtains the point member ID from theelectronic money card 7 in this way, the point terminal 20 transmits itto the point server 6, which is not shown, and requests to check thepoint balance, use the points, or the like.

The point server 6 receives the point member ID from the point terminal20, refers to the point balance associated with the point member ID, andtransmits the balance to the point terminal 20 (when the point balanceis referred to) or reduces the points (when the points are used).

As explained above, in this embodiment, it is configured so that thevalue balance is managed by the electronic money card 7, and the pointbalance is managed by the point server 6.

Such a form of management is described as an example, and this may bemodified so that, for example, the value balance and the point balanceare managed by the electronic money card 7, the value balance is managedby the electronic money server 5 and the balance of the points card ismanaged by the electronic money card 7, or the value balance is managedby the electronic money server 5 and the point balance is managed by themember store server 4.

When the value balance is managed by the electronic money card 7, theelectronic money card 7 stores an electronic money function part ID andvalue by bringing them into correspondence with each other. In thiscase, a monetary value storage medium having ID information assignedthereto and storing monetary value as electronic data is formed in theelectronic money card 7.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example of a hardware configuration of theelectronic money server 5.

The electronic money server 5 functions as an information processingdevice which performs information processing for putting electronicmoney into circulation, and includes a CPU 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 35, acommunications control portion 33, a storage portion 36, and the like,which are connected to one another via a bus line.

The CPU 31 performs various information processing according to apredetermined program. In this embodiment, it calculates the number ofpoints given to the electronic money card 7 by using the transactioninformation received from the electronic money terminal 3 and thebreakdown information received from the member store server 4, andperforms other information processing required to operate the electronicmoney system 1.

The ROM 32 is a read-only memory, and stores a basic program for makingthe electronic money server 5 work, a parameter, and the like.

The RAM 35 is a readable/writable memory, and performs such operationsas offering a working memory to the CPU 31 and loading the program ordata stored in the storage portion 36 and storing it.

The communications control portion 33 is a control portion forcommunicating with the electronic money terminal 3, the member storeserver 4, the point server 6, and other servers and terminals via thenetwork.

The storage portion 36 is configured by using a large-capacity storagedevice such as a hard disk, and is composed of a program storing portion38 storing various programs, a data storing portion 39 storing variousdata, and the like.

In the program storing portion 38, an OS which is a basic program formaking the electronic money server 5 work, a point calculation programfor calculating the number of points to be given by using thetransaction information and the breakdown information, and otherprograms are stored.

In the data storing portion 39, a user database 41 in which the user ofthe electronic money card 7 is registered, a member store database 42 inwhich information on the member store 2 is stored, a point table 43 inwhich the relationship between the breakdown and the number of points tobe given is defined, a transaction database 44 in which the transactioninformation is stored, a breakdown database 45 in which the breakdowninformation is stored, and the like, are stored.

Although the above description deals with the electronic money server 5,the hardware configurations of the electronic money terminal 3, themember store server 4, and the point server 6 are basically the same asthat of the electronic money server 5.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example of a logical configuration of the userdatabase 41.

The user database 41 consists of items such as “user ID”, “name”,“electronic money function part ID”, and “point member ID”.

The “user ID” is ID information for identifying the user of theelectronic money card 7. The user ID may be uniquely issued by theelectronic money server 5, or can be set by other methods such as usingthe telephone number of the mobile phone of the user.

The “name” is the name of the user. In the user database 41, in additionto the name, personal information of the user, such as address,telephone number, age, sex, and occupation, can be stored.

The “electronic money function part ID” is an electronic money functionpart ID of the electronic money card 7 of the user.

For example, when the user has a plurality of electronic money cards 7such as two electronic money cards 7 and the mobile phone 8 having theelectronic money function, the electronic money function part IDs ofthem are connected to the user ID in the user database 41.

When the electronic money card 7 of the user has the points cardfunction, the “point member ID” is a stored point member ID of theelectronic money card 7.

In the example shown in the figure, Ichiro Yamada whose user ID is“012-1123-5869” has three electronic money cards 7 (which may be mobilephones 8) with electronic money function part IDs “123456”, “345678”,and “987654”. Of them, the electronic money card 7 with the electronicmoney function part ID “123456” has the function as a points card withthe point member ID “abcdef”.

Incidentally, in the following explanation, the electronic money card 7with the electronic money function part ID “123456” is abbreviated as aC card, the electronic money card 7 with the electronic money functionpart ID “345678” is abbreviated as an A card, and the electronic moneycard 7 with the electronic money function part ID “987654” isabbreviated as a B card.

As will be explained in detail later, the electronic money server 5calculates the number of points for the electronic money card 7according to the amount of payment made with value.

Here, since the point member ID and the electronic money function partID of the electronic money card 7 are in a one-to-one correspondencewith each other in the user database 41, the electronic money functionpart ID can be used as the point member ID.

That is, the electronic money function part ID is brought intocorrespondence with the value storing portion 19 along with the pointmember ID.

As a result, the electronic money server 5 forms a point calculatingdevice which gives points according to the amount of payment made withmonetary value (value) with the points associated with the IDinformation (the point member ID or the electronic money function partID) of the monetary value storage medium (the value storing portion 19)in which the monetary value was stored.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example of a logical configuration of themember store database 42.

The member store database 42 consists of “operator”, “member store ID”,“member store name”, “terminal ID”, and other items (such as the ZIPcode, address, and telephone number of the member store).

In the “operator”, the name of an operator (the name of a legal person,a natural person, or the like) managing a member store is stored. Someoperators have a plurality of member stores, and others have a singlemember store.

In the example shown in the figure, the operator “Tokyo ConvenienceStore Kabushiki Kaisha” operates a plurality of convenience stores, suchas the Shibuya branch and the Osaka branch, as member stores.

Incidentally, though not shown, an operator ID is set for each operatorfor identifying the operator.

In the “member store ID”, ID information for identifying each memberstore is stored.

In the “member store name”, the name of the member store is stored.

In the “terminal ID”, the terminal ID of the electronic money terminal 3installed in each member store is stored.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example of a logical configuration of thepoint table 43.

The point table 43 defines the “point rate” and the “commission rate”for each “breakdown classification” of a “normal item”, a “tax-freeitem”, and a “collected item”.

Objects of payment classified into the “tax-free item” include tax-freearticles such as a postage stamp and a fiscal stamp.

Objects of payment classified into the “collected item” include objectsof payment collected on behalf of other operators as an agency paymentservice, such as public utility rates including water rates, electricityrates, and telephone rates, rates paid for home delivery, a payment fora ticket, and the like.

Objects of payment classified into the “normal item” include all theobjects of payment such as foods and miscellaneous goods except for thetax-free items and the collected items.

The “point rate” defines the number of points given by the electronicmoney server 5 when payment is made with the electronic money card 7. Inthe example shown in the figure, for the “normal item”, 1 point is givenfor every amount of payment of 200 yen, and for the “tax-free item” andthe “collected item”, no points are given irrespective of the amount ofpayment.

In addition to the above, for example, it is also possible to set suchthat, for the “tax-free item”, 1 point is given for every amount ofpayment of 500 yen.

The “commission rate” corresponds to charges the member store 2 pays toa business unit of the electronic money system 1 for the payment madewith the electronic money card 7, and it is set at 3% of the amount ofpayment for the “normal item”, is set at 1% for the “tax-free item”, andis set at 10 yen per payment for the “collected item”.

The above point rate and the commission rate are described as anexample, and can be arbitrarily set based on the contract between thepoint operator and the management operator of the electronic moneysystem 1.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an example of a logical configuration of thetransaction database 44.

In the transaction database 44, transaction information on charging orpayment performed with the electronic money card 7 is stored.

The transaction information consists of “electronic money function partID”, “charging”, “payment”, and other unillustrated items.

The electronic money function part ID is the one that was read by theelectronic money terminal 3 when it made access to the electronic moneycard 7.

The “charging” records a terminal ID of the electronic money terminal 3at which charging was performed, a transaction sequence number, aprocessing date and time of charging (for example, it can be specifiedto the second), the amount of charged value, and the like.

As is the case with the “charging”, the “payment” also records aterminal ID of the electronic money terminal 3 at which payment wasmade, a transaction sequence number, a processing date and time, theamount of value with which payment was made, and the like.

In the example shown in the figure, the C card, the A card, and the Bcard made payment at the same electronic money terminal 3 (terminal ID“341354”) by the same transaction sequence number (00023).

As a result, the electronic money server 5 can judge that these threeelectronic money cards 7 were used in one payment processing.

According to the transaction information, the amounts of payment madewith the electronic money cards 7 are as follows: 800 yen with the Ccard, 100 yen with the A card, and 600 yen with the B card.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example of a logical configuration of thebreakdown database 45.

The breakdown database 45 consists of “terminal ID”, “transactionsequence number”, “date and time”, “breakdown”, and other unillustrateditems.

The “terminal ID” is a terminal ID of the electronic money terminal 3 atwhich payment was made with the electronic money card 7.

The “transaction sequence number” is a consecutive number assigned bythe electronic money terminal 3 to processing performed by theelectronic money terminal 3.

The “date and time” is a processing date and time of payment processing,and it can be specified to the second, for example.

The “breakdown” is the amount of payment for each breakdown of an objectof payment.

In the example shown in the figure, the breakdown of the paymentprocessing to which the transaction sequence number “00023” was assignedby the electronic money terminal 3 with the terminal ID “341354” is asfollows: 600 yen for the “normal item”, 500 yen for the “tax-free item”,and 400 yen for the “collected item”.

The electronic money server 5 can specify the transaction informationcorresponding to the breakdown information by searching for thetransaction database 44 in FIG. 8 by using the terminal ID and thetransaction sequence number in the breakdown information as a key, andcan judge that this payment was made by using the A card, the B card,and the C card.

Next, by using FIGS. 10 and 11, point calculation processing performedby the electronic money server 5 is explained.

First, by using FIG. 10, the process performed by the electronic moneyserver 5 until it receives the transaction information and the breakdowninformation is explained.

When the user visits the member store 2 and makes payment at theelectronic money terminal 3 by using the electronic money card 7, theelectronic money terminal 3 generates the transaction information andthe payment object information.

By way of example, suppose that the electronic money terminal 3generates the transaction information to the effect that payment wasmade such that 100 yen was paid by the A card, 600 yen was paid by the Bcard, and 800 yen was paid by the C card.

In addition, as for the payment object information, by way of example,suppose that it generates the payment object information indicating that600 yen was paid for rice balls, 500 yen was paid for postage stamps,and 400 yen was paid for water bill payment.

The electronic money terminal 3 generates the transaction information,temporarily stores it, and transmits it to the electronic money server 5later with batch processing.

Moreover, as for the payment object information, upon generating it, theelectronic money terminal 3 transmits it immediately to the member storeserver 4.

Upon receiving the payment object information, the member store server 4stores it in a storage device.

The member store server 4 stores a breakdown table in which the objectof payment is associated with the breakdown, for example, a rice ball—annormal item, a payment for a postage stamp—a tax-free item, and a waterbill payment—a collected item, generates the breakdown information bychecking the payment object information against the breakdown table, andtransmits it to the electronic money server 5.

Next, by using FIG. 11, point calculation processing performed by theelectronic money server 5 is explained.

The components shown in the figure are each configured by executing thepoint calculation program, which is stored in the program storingportion 38, in the CPU 31 (FIG. 4).

A transaction information receiving portion 51 receives the transactioninformation from the electronic money terminal 3, and stores it in thetransaction database 44.

The transaction information receiving portion 51 functions as paymentamount obtaining means which obtains ID information (an electronic moneyfunction part ID) and the amount of payment in the monetary valuestorage medium to which the ID information is assigned.

Next, a card type judging portion 52 judges whether the electronic moneycard 7 recorded in this transaction information is an electronic moneycard 7 having the points card function or not. The electronic moneyserver 5 makes this judgment by checking the electronic money functionpart ID of the electronic money card 7 against the user database 41.

For the transaction information judged by the card type judging portion52 as being the payment made with an electronic money card 7 having nopoints card function, since no points are given to it, a commissioncalculating portion 59 calculates a commission to be paid by the memberstore 2 for the payment made with the electronic money card 7, andoutputs it to a predetermined file by an output portion 60.

Incidentally, when payment was made by using a plurality of electronicmoney cards 7, the card type judging portion 52 judges it to be thetransaction information by an electronic money card 7 having the pointscard function, provided that at least one of them is an electronic moneycard 7 having the points card function.

In the example shown in the figure, the transaction information includesthe A card, the B card, and the C card, and, since the C card is anelectronic money card 7 having the points card function, the card typejudging portion 52 judges it to be the transaction information by anelectronic money card 7 having the points card function.

For the transaction information judged by the card type judging portion52 to be the transaction information by an electronic money card 7having the points card function, a yet-to-be-corrected point calculatingportion 53 calculates the number of points that have yet to becorrected.

The number of points that have yet to be corrected is the number ofpoints that are given on the assumption that all the objects of paymentare normal items. Here, regardless of object of payment, calculation isperformed at a rate of 1 point for every amount of payment of 200 yen.

In the example shown in the figure, since 800 yen was paid by the Ccard, the yet-to-be-corrected point calculating portion 53 performscalculation as follows: 800÷200=4 points. Incidentally, a portion whichcannot be divided by 200 yen is discarded. For example, when the amountof payment is 900 yen, the result is 4 points.

The number of points calculated by the yet-to-be-corrected pointcalculating portion 53 and the amount of payment made with theelectronic money card 7 (the C card) having the points card function arestored in a predetermined storage area until correction is performed.

On the other hand, a breakdown information receiving portion 54 receivesthe breakdown information from the member store server 4, and stores itin the breakdown database 45.

The breakdown information receiving portion 54 functions as breakdowninformation obtaining means which obtains the breakdown information ofthe object of payment of the obtained amount of payment.

When the electronic money server 5 stores the transaction informationand the breakdown information, it brings them into correspondence witheach other by using the terminal ID and the transaction sequence numberas a key.

In this way, the transaction information and the breakdown informationconcerning certain payment processing are brought into correspondencewith each other.

As described above, the embodiment deals with, by way of example, a casein which the breakdown information and the transaction information arebrought into correspondence with each other by using the terminal ID andthe transaction sequence number as a key; however, it is not limitedthereto. For example, the electronic money server 3 may set IDinformation of some kind (this ID information is transmitted to thebreakdown information) other than the transaction sequence number to thetransaction information and the payment object information and establishcorrespondence by using this ID information, or the point server 6 mayinclude the contents equivalent to the transaction information in thebreakdown information (in this case, although there is no need to searchfor the transaction information because the breakdown informationincludes the same contents as the transaction information, checking isperformed for confirmation).

In either case, any method may be used as long as it can bring thetransaction information and the breakdown information intocorrespondence with each other.

After the transaction information and the breakdown information arebrought into correspondence with each other, when a plurality ofelectronic money cards 7 were used in one payment processing, a prioritysetting portion 55 sets priorities to the plurality of electronic moneycards 7.

Priorities are set first according to the presence or absence of thepoints card function, and then according to the amount of payment.

Specifically, first, an electronic money card 7 having the points cardfunction is given a higher priority than an electronic money card 7having no points card function.

Then, among the electronic money cards 7 having the points cardfunction, a card by which a larger amount of money was paid is given ahigher priority than a card by which a smaller amount of money was paid.

Similarly, among the electronic money cards 7 having no points cardfunction, a card by which a larger amount of money was paid is given ahigher priority than a card by which a smaller amount of money was paid.

In the example shown in the figure, since the C card is an electronicmoney card 7 having the points card function, it is given a higherpriority than the B card and the A card, and, since the amount of moneypaid by the B card is larger than the amount of money paid by the Acard, the B card is given a higher priority than the A card. As aresult, the set order of priority is, from highest to lowest, the Ccard, the B card, and the A card.

According to the above priority setting rules, when one electronic moneycard 7 was used in one payment processing, regardless of the presence orabsence of the points card function and the amount of payment, thiselectronic money card 7 is given the highest priority.

Next, a payment allocating portion 56 allocates the amount of paymentrecorded in the breakdown information to each electronic money card 7.

The amount of payment is broken down into the amount of payment to whichpoints are given (in the example shown in the figure, the amount ofpayment classified into the normal item: 600 yen) and the amount ofpayment to which no points are given (in the example shown in thefigure, the amount of payment classified into the tax-free item and thecollected item: 500+400=900 yen).

The payment allocating portion 56 allocates the amount of payment towhich points are given first to an electronic money card 7 given thehighest priority up to a ceiling of the amount of payment made with theelectronic money card 7.

Next, the payment allocating portion 56 allocates, to an electronicmoney card 7 which does not yet reach the amount of payment after theallocation of the amount of payment to which points are given, theamount of payment to which no points are given up to a ceiling of theamount of payment made with the electronic money card 7.

In this way, the payment allocating portion 56 can allocate the amountof payment to the electronic money card 7 in such a way that the largestpossible number of points are given.

In the example shown in the figure, since the amount of payment madewith the C card is 800 yen, the payment allocating portion 56 allocatesthe amount of payment to which points are given, 600 yen, to the C cardup to a ceiling of 800 yen.

Suppose that the amount of payment to which points are given is 1000yen. Then, the payment allocating portion 56 allocates 800 yen to the Ccard, and allocates the remaining 200 yen to the B card.

Priority may be given to either the tax-free item or the collected itemin allocation. Here, priority is given to the tax-free item inallocation, and the payment allocating portion 56 allocates, of 500 yen,200 yen to the C card and the remaining 300 yen to the B card. Then, thepayment allocating portion 56 allocates, of 400 yen paid for thecollected item, 300 yen to the B card and the remaining 100 yen to the Acard. In this way, it is possible to set allocation priorities to theclassifications of the breakdown information.

In addition, the payment allocating portion 56 sets the number of agencypayment service cases in the electronic money card 7 to which thelargest amount of payment made for the collected item is allocated. Forexample, the number thereof is one when water bill payment was collectedas an agency payment service, and the number thereof is two when waterand gas bill payments were collected as an agency payment service. Thenumber of agency payment service cases is recorded in the breakdowninformation.

According to the above payment amount allocating rules, when oneelectronic money card 7 is used for payment processing, all of theamount of payment to which points are given and the amount of payment towhich no points are given are allocated to the electronic money card 7.

After the amount of payment is allocated to each electronic money card 7in this way, a corrected value calculating portion 57 calculates acorrected value of the amount of payment used for point calculation byusing the amount of payment thus allocated.

When the amount of payment allocated to an electronic money card 7having the points card function as the object to which points are givenis smaller than the amount of payment made with the electronic moneycard 7, the corrected value calculating portion 57 calculates thedifference.

In the example shown in the figure, while the amount of paymentallocated to the C card as the object to which points are given is 600yen, the amount of payment made with the C card is 800 yen. Therefore,the corrected value calculating portion 57 calculates the difference,−200 yen.

A corrected point calculating portion 58 obtains, from theyet-to-be-corrected point calculating portion 53, the amount of paymentmade with the electronic money card 7 having the points card functionand the points that have yet to be corrected, and obtains a correctedvalue of the amount of payment from the corrected value calculatingportion 57.

Then, the corrected point calculating portion 58 corrects the amount ofpayment of the electronic money card 7 with the corrected value, andcalculates the number of points that have been corrected.

In the example shown in the figure, since the amount of payment of the Ccard is 800 yen and the corrected value is −200 yen, the corrected pointcalculating portion 58 calculates the number of points given to 600yen=800−200 at a rate of 1 point for every 200 yen. In this example,600÷200=3 points.

In this way, the number of points given to the amount of payment madewith the C card is corrected from 4 points to 3 points.

After the points are calculated in this way, the commission calculatingportion 59 calculates a commission.

According to the point table 43, it is set at 3% of the amount ofpayment for the normal item, is set at 1% of the amount of payment forthe tax-free item, and is set at 10 yen per payment for the collecteditem. Therefore, in the example shown in the figure,600×0.03+500×0.01+1×10=33 yen.

The output portion 60 outputs the number of points thus calculated to apredetermined file with the number of points associated with anelectronic money function part ID.

After this, the electronic money server 5 searches the user database 41for a point member ID of the electronic money card 7, brings the pointmember ID into correspondence with the number of points that have beencorrected, and transmits it to the point server 6.

As described above, the yet-to-be-corrected point calculating portion53, the payment allocating portion 56, the corrected value calculatingportion 57, and the corrected point calculating portion 58 function aspoint calculating means which identifies the amount of payment to whichpoints are given by using the obtained breakdown information andcalculates points for the amount of payment thus identified.

Then the output portion 60 functions as point outputting means whichoutputs the calculated points with the points associated with the IDinformation.

Moreover, in the electronic money system 1, a first type monetary valuestorage medium (the value storing portion 19 of the electronic moneycard 7 having the points card function) to which points are given whenpayment is made and a second type monetary value storage medium (thevalue storing portion 19 of the electronic money card 7 having no pointscard function) to which no points are given even when payment is madeare used, and, when the first type monetary value storage medium and thesecond type monetary value storage medium are both used in one paymentprocessing, the point calculating device allocates, up to a ceiling ofthe amount of payment made with the first type monetary value storagemedium, the identified amount of payment to which points are given tothe first type monetary value storage medium as the amount paid by it,and calculates points.

The example described above is provided with two lines, of which one isa line for receiving an input from the transaction information receivingportion 51, and the other is a line for receiving an input from thebreakdown information receiving portion 54. This is because thetransaction information and the breakdown information are received atdifferent intervals, and the number of cases of payment for a tax-freeitem and a collected item is remarkably small compared to the number ofcases of payment for a normal item.

That is, when the transaction information is received about once a dayand the breakdown information is received after a delay of three days,delaying processing of other transaction information for very few piecesof transaction information which requires point correction (in addition,it is only three days later that a corrected value can be calculated) isinefficient.

Moreover, the reason the yet-to-be-corrected point calculating portion53 calculates points and the corrected point calculating portion 58calculates points again is that the number of pieces of transactioninformation to which correction is performed is small.

That is, since the great majority of points calculated by theyet-to-be-corrected point calculating portion 53 require no correction,it is more efficient to calculate the points that have yet to becorrected without waiting for a point corrected value to be calculatedby receiving the breakdown information.

Next, by using FIG. 12, an example in which two of three electronicmoney cards 7 are electronic money cards 7 having the points cardfunction is explained.

Suppose that an A card and a C card have the points card function, and aB card does not have the points card function.

Moreover, in FIG. 12, the different functional portions of theelectronic money server 5 are omitted.

Suppose that the user paid a total of 1500 yen, 1000 yen for rice balls(a normal item), 100 yen as a payment for a postage stamp (a tax-freeitem), and 400 yen as a water bill payment (a collected item), by paying300 yen by the A card, 400 yen by the B card, and 800 yen by the C card.

The electronic money terminal 3 generates transaction informationindicating that the A card: 300 yen, the B card: 400 yen, and the Ccard: 800 yen, and transmits it to the electronic money server 5.

In addition, the electronic money terminal 3 generates payment objectinformation indicating that a rice ball: 1000 yen, a payment for apostage stamp: 100 yen, and a water bill payment: 400 yen, and transmitsit to the member store server 4. The member store server 4 generates,from this payment object information, breakdown information indicatingthat a normal item: 1000 yen, a tax-free item: 100 yen, and a collecteditem: 400 yen, and transmits it to the electronic money server 5.

In the electronic money server 5, the card type judging portion 52judges that the A card and the C card have the points card function, andthe B card does not have the points card function.

Then, the yet-to-be-corrected point calculating portion 53 calculatesthe points that have yet to be corrected by using the transactioninformation as follows: 1 point for the A card and 4 points for the Ccard.

On the other hand, the priority setting portion 55 sets priorities tothe cards. First, since the A card and the C card have the points cardfunction and the B card does not have the points card function, the Acard and the C card are given higher priorities than the B card.

Then, since the amount of payment of the C card is larger than that ofthe A card, the C card is given a higher priority than the A card.

In this way, the order of priority is, from highest to lowest, the Ccard, the A card, and the B card.

After priorities are set to the cards, the payment allocating portion 56allocates the amount of payment recorded in the breakdown information tothe cards.

First, since the amount of payment of the C card is 800 yen, the paymentallocating portion 56 allocates the amount of payment for a normal itemto it up to a ceiling of 800 yen. Since the amount of payment for anormal item is 1000 yen, the payment allocating portion 56 allocates, of1000 yen, 800 yen to the C card.

Next, since the amount of payment of the A card is 300 yen, the paymentallocating portion 56 allocates the amount of payment of a normal itemto it up to a ceiling of 300 yen. Since 800 yen of 1000 yen for a normalitem has already been allocated to the C card, the payment allocatingportion 56 allocates the remaining 200 yen to the A card.

Since the amount of payment of the A card has the capacity to pay 100yen=300−200, the payment allocating portion 56 allocates the amount ofpayment for a tax-free item to it up to a ceiling of 100 yen. Since theamount of payment for a tax-free item is 100 yen, the payment allocatingportion 56 allocates the amount of payment for a tax-free item, 100 yen,to the A card.

Next, since the amount of payment of the B card is 400 yen, the paymentallocating portion 56 allocates the amount of payment for a collecteditem, 400 yen, to the B card.

Then, for the B card to which the amount of payment for a collected itemis allocated, the payment allocating portion 56 sets the number ofagency payment service cases at one.

After the amount of payment is allocated to each card in this way, thecorrected value calculating portion 57 calculates a corrected value ofthe amount of payment.

Here, since the amount of payment, 200 yen, allocated to the A card asthe object to which points are given is smaller than the amount ofactual payment, 300 yen, the corrected value calculating portion 57calculates the difference, −100 yen, for the A card.

As for the C card, since the amount of payment, 800 yen, allocatedthereto as the object to which points are given is equal to the amountof actual payment, 800 yen, the corrected value calculating portion 57calculates the difference, 0 yen, for the C card.

Next, the corrected point calculating portion 58 corrects the number ofpoints that have yet to be corrected.

As for the A card, since the difference is −100, the corrected pointcalculating portion 58 performs correction for the A card such that theamount of payment is corrected to 200=300−100, and calculates 1 point asthe number of points for this amount.

As for the C card, since the difference is 0 yen, the corrected pointcalculating portion 58 sets the amount of payment at 800=800−0 for the Ccard, and calculates 4 points as the number of points for this amount.

Next, the commission calculating portion 59 calculates a commissioncharged to the member store 2 by using 1000 yen for a normal item, 100yen for a tax-free item, and one case for a collected item.Specifically, 1000×0.03+100×0.01+1×10=41 yen.

As described above, it is possible to appropriately correct the numberof points even when there are a plurality of electronic money cards 7having the points card function.

The above-described example deals with a case in which no points aregiven to the amount of payment for an item other than a normal item. Forexample, when a plurality of point rates are set for objects of payment,such as giving 1 point for every amount of payment of 200 yen for anormal item, giving 1 point for every amount of payment of 500 yen for atax-free item, and giving 0 point to a collected item irrespective ofthe amount of payment, the electronic money server 5 allocates theamount of payment, from highest point rate to lowest, to a higherpriority electronic money card 7.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining a point calculation procedure bywhich the electronic money server 5 calculates points.

First, the transaction information receiving portion 51 receives thetransaction information from the electronic money terminal 3, and storesit in the transaction database 44 (step 5).

Next, the card type judging portion 52 judges whether the electronicmoney card 7 recorded in the transaction information has the points cardfunction or not (step 10).

When the electronic money card 7 is found not to be an electronic moneycard 7 having the points card function (that is, when it is found to bean electronic money card 7 having no points card function) (step 10; N),the electronic money server 5 does not perform point calculation, andthe commission calculating portion 59 calculates a commission (step 45)and outputs it to a predetermined file, or the like (step 50).

When the electronic money card 7 is found to be an electronic money card7 having the points card function (step 10; Y), the yet-to-be-correctedpoint calculating portion 53 calculates the number of points that haveyet to be corrected, and temporarily stores the number of points and theamount of payment of each electronic money card 7 in the storage portion36, or the like, until the breakdown information is transmitted (step15).

Next, the breakdown information receiving portion 54 receives thebreakdown information from the member store server 4, and stores it inthe breakdown database 45 (step 20).

When the breakdown information is stored, the electronic money server 5checks the match between the transaction information and the breakdowninformation based on the terminal ID and the transaction sequencenumber, and brings the transaction information and the breakdowninformation generated in the same payment processing into correspondencewith each other.

After the transaction information and the breakdown information arebrought into correspondence with each other, the priority settingportion 55 sets priorities to the electronic money cards 7 used forpayment according to the presence or absence of the points cardfunction, and then sets priorities to them according to the amount ofpayment (step 25).

Next, the payment allocating portion 56 allocates the amount of paymentrecorded in the breakdown information to the electronic money cards 7(step 30).

This allocation is performed by allocating the amount of payment for anormal item, a tax-free item, and a collected item, in this order, tothem in the order of priority, from highest to lowest, up to a ceilingof the amount of payment made with each electronic money card 7.

Next, the corrected value calculating portion 57 calculates a correctedvalue of the amount of payment for correcting the number of points (step35).

This calculation of a corrected value is performed by calculating, whenthe amount of payment to which points are given (the amount of paymentfor a normal item) is smaller than the amount of actual payment, thedifference between them for each electronic money card 7.

Next, the corrected point calculating portion 58 reads the temporarilystored number of points and amount of payment of each electronic moneycard 7, corrects the amount of payment by using the corrected value, andcalculates the number of points that have been corrected (step 40).

Then, the commission calculating portion 59 calculates a commission(step 45), and the output portion 60 outputs the number of points ofeach electronic money card 7 and the commission (step 50).

Next, by using FIG. 14, a modified example of the embodiment isexplained.

In the embodiment explained above, the number of points is calculatedbased on the transaction information, and the number of points is thencorrected by using the subsequently obtained breakdown information; inthis modified example, the number of points is calculated withoutperforming correction by performing point calculation after thebreakdown information is received.

Such components as find their counterparts in FIG. 11 are identifiedwith the same numerals, and their explanations will be simplified.

Incidentally, the transaction information and the breakdown informationare the same as those of FIG. 11, and the C card is an electronic moneycard 7 having the points card function.

First, a transaction information/breakdown information receiving portion65 receives the transaction information and the breakdown information,and stores them in the transaction database 44 and the breakdowndatabase 45, respectively.

Incidentally, when the breakdown information includes the contentsequivalent to the transaction information, the following processing canbe performed by using, in place of the transaction information, thecontents which are equivalent to the transaction information and areincluded in the breakdown information.

Next, the card type judging portion 52 judges whether the electronicmoney card 7 recorded in the transaction information has the points cardfunction or not, and, when it is found not to have the points cardfunction, the commission calculating portion 59 calculates a commission,and the output portion 60 outputs it.

When at least one of the electronic money cards 7 used for payment hasthe points card function, the priority setting portion 55 setspriorities to them, and the payment allocating portion 56 allocates theamount of payment to them.

Next, a point calculating portion 66 calculates the number of points byusing the amount of payment allocated by the payment allocating portion56.

Since the C card has the points card function, the point calculatingportion 66 calculates 3 points for 600 yen, of the amount of payment ofthe C card, to which points are given.

After point calculation, the commission calculating portion 59calculates a commission, and the output portion 60 outputs the number ofpoints and the commission.

This modified example can be used when the difference in the time ofreception of the breakdown information and the transaction informationis small, for example, when the breakdown information is transmitted tothe electronic money server 5 with approximately the same frequency asthe transaction information, or when the interval between the times atwhich points are given is long relative to the interval between thetimes at which the breakdown information is received, for example, whenthe number of points is calculated once a month.

Although the above description deals with a case in which payment withthe electronic money card 7 is made at the electronic money terminal 3,the same goes for a case in which payment is made by using theelectronic money card 7 at a virtual store on the server.

In this case, the user can perform payment processing by installing areader/writer in a user terminal such as a personal computer and settingthe electronic money card 7 in the reader/writer.

Payment processing with the electronic money card 7 is performed by apredetermined server (which may be the electronic money server 5), andthe electronic money server 5 can obtain the transaction informationfrom the predetermined server.

In addition, the electronic money server 5 can obtain the breakdowninformation from a server that operates the virtual store.

Then, the electronic money server 5 can calculate points based on thetransaction information and the breakdown information in a mannersimilar to the embodiment or the modified example.

According to the embodiment and the modified example explained above, itis possible to obtain the following advantage.

(1) It is possible to control the point giving rate depending on anobject of payment.

(2) It is possible to allocate the amount of payment to electronic moneycards 7 in such a way that, when payment was made by using both anelectronic money card 7 having the points card function and anelectronic money card 7 having no points card function, the user canearn as many points as possible.

(3) It is possible to obtain the breakdown of the amount of paymentrecorded in the transaction information based on the breakdowninformation.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An electronic money system comprising: at least one electronic money card including a integrated circuit (IC) chip and an antenna, the IC chip having identification information assigned thereto and storing a monetary value in a memory; an electronic money terminal located inside a member store, wherein the electronic money terminal includes a reader/writer that accesses the at least one electronic money card, wirelessly reduces the monetary value stored in the IC chip according to an amount of payment made for at least two objects of payment, wirelessly receives the identification information from the at least one electronic money card, generates payment object information for the at least two objects of payment, the payment object information specifying a payment object code and an amount of payment corresponding to the payment object code, and generates respective transaction information for each of the at least two objects of payment, the transaction information specifying the identification information and the amount of payment made for each of the at least two objects of payment; a member store server that receives the payment object information from the electronic money terminal located inside the member store, determines, on an object by object basis, whether each of the at least two objects of payment is one of a tax-free item and a collected item, and generates breakdown information that specifies that at least one amount of payment is one of the tax-free item and the collected item; an electronic money server that receives the transaction information from the electronic money terminal located inside the member store, separately receives the breakdown information from the member store server, matches the received transaction information to the separately received breakdown information for the at least one electronic money card, and calculates a number of points based on the received transaction information from the electronic money terminal and the received breakdown information from the member store server; and a point server that receives the calculated number of points from the electronic money server and accumulates points to provide a points balance for the at least one electronic money card.
 2. The electronic money system of claim 1, wherein the electronic money system includes a plurality of electronic money terminals located inside the member store.
 3. The electronic money system of claim 1, wherein the electronic money system includes a plurality of member stores each having an electronic money terminal.
 4. The electronic money system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of member stores each include a plurality of electronic money terminals.
 5. The electronic money system of claim 1, wherein the IC chip is provided in a mobile phone.
 6. The electronic money system of claim 1, wherein the electronic money server determines whether the electronic money card is a points card.
 7. The electronic money system of claim 1, wherein the electronic money server includes a user database, a member store database, a point table, a transaction database, and a breakdown database.
 8. The electronic money system of claim 1, wherein the member store server associates each member store identifier with a plurality of electronic money terminal identifiers.
 9. The electronic money system of claim 1, wherein the identification information is stored in read only memory in the IC chip. 